Although applicable to any information systems which involve rating of specific, time-variable system parameters, the present invention, as well as its underlying problem definition, are clarified with reference to a navigational system located on board an automobile.
Present-day navigational systems are essentially composed of the following subsystems: digital map, computational module for automatic route determination, position-finding device, system management, automotive sensor technology for recognizing vehicle movements, as well as input unit and output unit for the operation and guidance system.
In navigational systems having route guidance, to calculate the travel path, also referred to in the following as route, from the geographic coordinate S, usually representing the vehicle position, to another coordinate Z, as the destination, which is usually specified by the location, road or intersection and, in some instances by other information such as street number, one must rate (evaluate) the roads to be traveled, to achieve an xe2x80x9coptimalxe2x80x9d route guidance in accordance with a predefined criterion.
If the user of the system chooses xe2x80x9cshort routexe2x80x9d as optimal, for example, then the criterion xe2x80x9csearch for the shortest drivable routexe2x80x9d is stipulated for the system to calculate a route. Usually, however, such a stipulation (input) does not lead to an effective route guidance, for example when it comes to many overland routes via country roads or in larger cities having many xe2x80x9c30 k.p.h. zonesxe2x80x9d.
For that reason, a xe2x80x9cfastxe2x80x9d connection from S to Z is often considered to be optimal. In this context, xe2x80x9cfastxe2x80x9d means that for the route computation, the roads are classified by type, such as expressway, national highway, country road, etc. The individual road classifications in related-art navigational systems are then assigned fixed average speeds, such as 100 km/h for superhighways, 80 km/h for national highways, etc. The route computation is then set up to calculate a route having altogether a shortest possible driving time.
In addition, there is also information about the probable period of time until the destination is reached. This can be output to the user of the system, whether it be as a time span or as an estimated time of arrival.
Navigational systems of this kind are, however, static with respect to external conditions. They do not take into account the actual average speeds which are driven and which can be reached on the route. Furthermore, systems of this kind are not able to incorporate the user""s driving habits in the route planning. For these reasons, they usually only provide imprecise information about the time until the destination is reached.
In addition, such a static assignment of average speeds to specific road sections often results in longer routes than a system user would desire or would select if he/she were to use a road map. Moreover, depending on the average speeds selected, the routes calculated by the system are often characterized by an unjustified preference for major roads, such as superhighways or national highways.
The method of the present invention has the advantage that, following a certain xe2x80x9ctransient recovery timexe2x80x9d, (xe2x80x9cresponse timexe2x80x9d) the route calculation is able to generate better routes for the most frequently driven surrounding area. In most cases, this is associated with a shorter driving time. In addition, the routes calculated by the system are better adapted to the user""s individual driving behavior. As a result, the time needed to reach a destination, as queried of the system or output by the system, is more accurate.
An idea underlying the present invention is for the above described, static rating of the road classifications using fixed average speeds input into the system, to be replaced by or, if necessary, supplemented with continuously corrected, i.e., updated speed values. In other words, instead of the fixed and invariably predefined road-classification speeds of the related art, actually reached speeds learned by the system during vehicle operation are, to an extent, used as a basis for route planning and estimating arrival time, etc. Because such average driving-speed values learned by the system are stored in a non-volatile memory, they are also available for a new route planning after the system is turned off.
For this, the information available during the driving operation, pertaining to the currently driven road classification and speed, is repeated, for instance at intervals of one second or longer, and set against one another, separately for each road classification. As a starting value for such a calculation, one may use, for example, the fixed average speed indicated above, or alternatively thereto, a speed to be entered by the driver into the system.
Thus, in accordance with the general aspect of the present invention, a dynamically adapted average value of the vehicle speed is used for calculating the route for one or more partial sections K of a particular driven road. The corresponding linking of database fields implemented in the navigational system is, therefore, also dynamic. The system adapts itself to the actually existing conditions.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment, a filtering takes place over time, in order to recalculate the average vehicle-speed value that is relevant to the rating. Such a filtering constitutes an especially simple implementation. In principle, however, other algorithms are also possible.
Another preferred embodiment provides for weighting the influence of this adaptation, variably, with respect to the recalculation. This makes it possible to minimize the effects of a xe2x80x9cself-learning processxe2x80x9d of the navigational system on the stored attribute values for the average speed of a particular road section K. This can be useful in the event of snowfall or other adverse weather conditions, so that rare, exceptional events do not become the basis of a self-learning process for the navigational system. In one simple variant, the user may choose, for example, between heavy, average, and weak weighting. Alternatively, other weighting factors may also be input by the user.
For this, the following schema is given:
When v(tO,K) is the fixed average speed preset for road classification K at the first system start-up; v(tn,K) is the adapted average speed calculated for road classification K at instant tn; v(tn+1) is the instantaneously driven speed and x the weighting factor, with which the old value in the particular case is linked to the new value, then, at instant tn+1, the instantaneously adapted average speed is obtained for K as
v(tn+1r,K)=(1xe2x88x92x).v(tn,K)+x.v(tn+1).
In this context, it does not matter whether the road classifications are actually rated in the xe2x80x9ckm/hxe2x80x9d unit; what is important is the change in ratings as a function of values which are actually attained.
To be able to continue to use the values calculated within one driving cycle later on, provision is made to store them in a non-volatile memory.
Likewise provided is the introduction of upper and lower limits for each of the learned speeds; generally, this is more likely to result in unfavorable route proposals, for example, if the rating of an expressway were lower than that of a country road.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the method of the present invention may be improved by undertaking a separation into a so-called short-term and long-term adaptation, including different time constants and/or weightings xshort and xlong, respectively: the case of short-term adaptation, the intervals between tn and tn+i lie in the seconds range, and, in the case of long-term adaptation, in the minutes range. In accordance with this separation, the driven speed may be calculated within the selected period of time. The above-mentioned weighting factor x may also be selected to be greater or smaller, depending on whether it is practical to give the active speed value a greater or smaller influence in the recalculation of the average value. The values from the long-term adaptation are preferably used for the route calculation, and those from the short-term adaptation are used for updating the time indication until the destination is reached.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment, a starting value may be proposed by the system user for recalculating the average value that is relevant to the rating, and be entered by him/her into the system. This makes the system more flexible in its response to individual driving habits and to the configuration of individual road sections.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the method of the present invention may be simplified by an adaptation, without explicit consideration of the road classifications, only with respect to the average vehicle speed, including appropriate percentage increase or decrease in the rating factors of the individual road classifications. The average vehicle-speed value is then calculated on the basis of the current average vehicle-speed value, and the weighting of road classifications, preset by the system, loses influence. A measure of this kind likewise enhances the flexibility of the navigational system.
Another preferred embodiment provides for the user to be given a variably adjustable way to influence route proposals generated by the system, in order to minimize or eliminate the influence of values learned by the system. The method of the present invention may be supplemented in this manner using statistics pertaining to the length of the calculated routes and analysis thereof. when the user drives frequently in the neighborhood of his/her residence, for example in a congested area, then, due to increased traffic volume, such as rush-hour traffic, the adapted values are more likely to become low for the road classification rating. When the intention is to calculate a route to a more distant destination, it can then happen, under unfavorable conditions, that an inexpert route selection is made, for example, due to strong consideration of minor roads. In such a case, given such atypical destination distances, it would be more beneficial, for example, for part of the adaptation to be carried out by overriding the values learned by the system, towards starting values acquired from long-term experience or preset by the user.